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Outline
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SUBSAHARAN AFRICA I
  • (CHAPTER 6:  264-285)
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MAJOR
GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
  • A plateau continent that is physiographically unique
  • Comprised of dozens of nations and hundreds of ethnic groups
  • A realm of subsistence farmers
  • Inefficient state boundaries represent colonial legacies
  • Dislocated peoples and refugees
  • Raw materials and resource potential
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COLONIALISM

  • EUROPEAN COLONIAL OBJECTIVES
    • A port along the West African coast
    • A water route to South Asia and Southeast Asia
    • 1500’s- looking for resources; Slaves
    • 1850- industrial revolution occurs in Europe
      • Increased demand for mineral resources
      • Need to expand agricultural production
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BERLIN CONFERENCE
1884
  • 14 States divided up Africa without consideration of cultures
  • Results of superimposed boundaries
  • --  African peoples were divided.
  • --  Unified regions were ripped apart.
  • --  Hostile societies were thrown together.
  • --  Hinterlands were disrupted.
  • --  Migration routes were closed off.
  • When independence returned to Africa after 1950, the realm had already acquired a legacy of political fragmentation.
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COLONIAL POLICIES
  • Great Britain:  “Indirect Rule” (Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe)
    • Indigenous power structures were left intact to some degree and local rulers were made representatives of the crown.

  • France: “Assimilationist” (Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, etc.)
    • Enforced a direct rule which propagated the French culture through language, laws, education and dress (acculturation)
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COLONIAL POLICIES
  • Portugal: “Exploitation” (Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Mozambique)
    • First to enslave and colonize and one of the last to grant independence
    • Maintained rigid control; raw resource oriented
  • Belgium: “Paternalistic” (Rwanda, Zaire, Burundi)
    • Treated Africans as though they where children who needed to be tutored in western ways; did not try to make them Belgium
    • Raw resource oriented; ignored the development of natives
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INDEPENDENT
 STATES
IN AFRICA
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THE LEGACY
  • Several hundred languages are spoken.
  • Antagonism between tribes (e.g., Rwanda)
  • Low level of development is linked to colonization
    • Transportation facilities - Movement of goods is from the interior to coastal outlets.
    • Communication within Africa is impeded by desert, dense forest, and lack of navigable rivers in certain regions.
    • Dual economy remains intact; most states rely on a single crop or mineral and are vulnerable to world markets.
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MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY
  • Studies spatial aspects of disease and health
  • Africa is an extraordinary laboratory.
  • --  Disease incidence and diffusion
  •   --  Widespread nutritional deficiencies
  • Millions suffer from:
    •  malaria -  river blindness
    •  yellow fever -  sleeping sickness
    •  AIDS -  bilharzia
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MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY
  • Endemic
  • --  Exists in equilibrium with the population
  • --  Many develop an immunity of sorts
  • --  Saps energy, lowers resistance, shortens lives
  • Epidemic
  • --  Sudden outbreak at local, regional scale
  • Pandemic
  • --  Worldwide spread
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CULTURAL PATTERNS
  • Population distribution
  • Urbanization
  • African languages
    • Lingua franca
    • Multilingualism
  • Religions
    • Christianity
    • Islam
    • Tribal religions
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SUBSAHARAN AFRICA I
  • (CHAPTER 6:  264-285)